MINA SMITH, WRITER & CREATOR

Writing freelance at home isn't always about having more time to spend with friends and family; sometimes it is because writing freelance is a call, despite all the hard work.

Freelance usually means working from home. Working from home usually means you don't have a set schedule. No set schedule usually means you end up the one running the errands, taking the kids to school, taking the car into the shop... Although it might be part of why you wanted to work from home in the first place, the "since you're home, could you?" chores start to stack up really fast. So how do you keep them from overtaking your whole life?

'No' shouldn't be such a difficult word to say, but sometimes it can be. If you spouse works until 6 and they need to get something to the post office, you might be tethered with his or her chores. Since you don't have a regular 9-5 job that keeps you tethered to a desk, it seems so much easier than making them leave work. However, learning to say no can save you a lot of stress. Chores and errands should be distributed as evenly as possible, even though you are just full of "free time." You are both working, you are both parents, house owners, pet owners, and the work needs to be divided as such.

Make a Schedule

Just like a regular job, you will be required to work a certain number of hours a day. Make sure to limit the promises you make and errands down to a normal, lunch break amount of time. Anything outside of that might effect your sleep, force you to call in delivery instead of cooking, or make you sacrifice work. Don't let staying home all day to work turn into working only four hours around the busy schedule others have created for you!

Sit Them Down

Letting your family and spouse know what you do all day, how important your work is to you, and how long that work can take can help to get rid of some of the tasks your family tries to get you to shoulder. If your income is short at the end of the month, explain that their tiny errands really add up against your time spent doing your job. There are only so many hours in a day and letting your spouse know how your time is used might make it a little harder for them to ask you to help them out during the day.

Practice Saying No

Most of us have been raised to do what we can to please others. It can lead us to shouldering too many responsibilities to prevent guilt trips and bad feelings. But taking time to do your work needs to take priority. Although it might be hard, start small. Say no to that baby shower you have no desire to attend, so no to making the whole kindergarten class brownies, and say no to going out to eat with your sibling. Small no's will help to make it easier to say no to bigger things in the future.

Build Priorities

Do you really need to pick up your children from school, or would the school bus be okay? Would it be a better use of your time and money to buy your spouse a few more dress shirts and pants so you can go to the dry cleaners once a week instead of twice? Can you work out from home once a week to cut back on travel time instead of going to the gym? Where else can you cut back a few moments from your day to give your career as much time as it needs to flourish and grow?

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